I’m a Muslim Girl and This Is Why the New Season of 'Skam' Is So Important to Me

In this op-ed, Naureen Nashid explores the importance of Norwegian cult teen drama Skam’s choice to focus on a Muslim character for Season 4.

For years, networks have attempted to bring about shows that would appeal to a real teenage audience in the form of series like Gossip Girl and Skins,. That said, the trap many of them often fell into was the oblique over-dramatization of what the "teenage experience" is. Especially since many of these shows flopped when it came to character diversity. But now there is Skam, a Norwegian show which translates to “shame” in English, and it’s completely changing the game. Focusing on a group of teens who attend Oslo’s elite Hartvig Nissen School, it previously made headlines for its unique distribution model that involves airing episode clips in live time. But with their fourth and newest season, they’re starting to create buzz in another way.

Each season of Skam focuses on a central character facing the same kind of obstacles regular teenagers face in their day to day lives, such as grappling with budding sexuality, feelings of loneliness, or murky relationships. And for the fourth season, the producers have chosen to turn the spotlight on Sana Bakkoush, a devout Muslim girl who is a favorite amongst the die-hard fans for her dark lipstick, quick wit, and intelligence that goes beyond that of her peers.

Sana wears a hijab, doesn’t hook up with boys, or get sloppy drunk. She’s different, and while we’ve seen some of this in the first three seasons, we were never shown a deeper side of Sana. Don’t get me wrong — I love all the characters with all my heart and root for them, but as a practicing Muslim, Sana is my soul sister. She’s got unwavering faith, but she’s not a homebody, i.e. giving into what society expects good, little Muslim girls to do.

Just take our first introduction to her in season one, in which Sana expresses how difficult it was to grow up and live in Norway, a country where 90 percent of the population is atheist. Yet, despite the struggles she faced, the crowd she hung out with, and the ignorance she has to deal with on a daily basis, she stays true to herself. Islam is a part of who Sana is and I’m happy we’re getting to see that now. Like me, Sana’s faith is personal to her. And what makes me feel better is what Skam creator Julie Andem has to say about Sana herself. During an interview, Andem said, “The point was to make a character that chooses her own relation to her religion. [Sana] has strong faith, but she doesn’t need to relate to the whole package the culture is trying to push on her.”

And this is evident from the get-go during a powerful scene in the first episode of season four. Sana is attending a party with her friends but sneaks away to do Wudu, the cleansing ritual performed before praying Salah, which are the five prayers Muslims are required to do every day. She finds a room and starts praying, but is interrupted by a couple barging in and hooking up on the bed beside her, causing her to stop and walk out. This scene exemplifies Andem’s quote by showing that while Sana is still active within the party culture of her peers, she still makes time to honor her core values.

Additionally, it looks like this season will continue to tackle the realities of being a Muslim — especially in today’s political climate. Earlier this week, Sana’s Instagram account (another big component of Skam is the social media profiles created for the characters, which update in real time) posted a video of Melania Trump reminding Donald Trump that he has to put his hand over his chest during the Pledge of Allegiance. The caption read: “When your immigrant wife has to remind you to be a patriot.”

After all, Skam has a history of wryly covering the politics and global issues that real teens are exposed to in everyday life, such as helping Syrian refugees (or alternatively, how the West’s motivations to help typically boil down to something less than altruistic). Showing things like this is especially important in our society, as the presence of Islamophobia and xenophobia continue to grow every day.

So obviously, we can expect a lot of real world issues to seep into this season. But what will make this all feel even more real is that the actress who plays Sana, Iman Meskini, is also a practicing Muslim, which means she knows what my own everyday experience is like. In an interview with a Norwegian radio show, Meskini spoke about how she tackles criticism and hate for her faith. She’s been accused of being a part of ISIS, and as one person said, “invading their television screens.” When faced with this kind of prejudice, she advises girls like herself to speak up and rise against people like that because their voices and thoughts need to be heard, too.

This is also evident from the get-go of this season. The first clip begins with a staredown between Sana and a white woman, who tries to stare her down on the bus after her phone alerts her with the Azaan, the call for prayer. But Sana, being the bold babe she is, doesn’t move her gaze, and eventually, the woman looks away. It's become no secret that people are afraid of Islam and those who follow it. The woman who tried to stare Sana down nents that prejudice and distrust that Muslims face every day no matter where they live.

That said, while external politics are definitely an important aspect to highlight, something that tends to go unrepresented within contemporary media portrayals of young Muslim women is sex and sexuality. After all, Skam hasn’t shied away from this topic in previous seasons, but we can definitely expect the conversation to be different when it’s told through Sana’s eyes. In one of the clips for episode one, Sana meets up with her friends, who are all talking about sex quite graphically. She immediately becomes withdrawn and even lashes out at her friend, Vilde, for talking about sex so explicitly. Vilde, in turn, tells Sana that she understands she’s sexually frustrated since Sana “can’t have sex.” Sana quickly tells her that she can have sex, she just chooses not to.

While other characters are exploring love and sex, Sana hasn’t been one of them, so I’m extremely curious to see how they’ll tackle it this season. Sana is very obviously in tune with her faith. She covers her body, prays, and adheres to the general rules, such as not having sex before marriage — something that many Muslim girls might identify with. After all, sexuality is a topic that isn’t discussed enough in Muslim communities. Growing up, I was never given "the talk" by my parents. I found out about periods after I had gotten mine, and my mother still acts surprised if I know about general sex-related things.

Interestingly enough, Sana has never shown interest in boys, specifically typical Norwegian boys. Despite this, she appears to be a bit nervous and jittery around her brother’s friends, all of whom are Muslim. She seems to be a bit taken by one named Yousef, who stole thousands of viewers hearts while dancing to “I Feel It Coming” by The Weeknd in one scene. In a later clip, Sana tells her friend, Noora, that Muslim people are supposed to marry other Muslims. So it could be that Sana is just waiting for the right boy to sweep her off her feet?

Whatever happens, Skam and Sana will undoubtedly go down in history and make a significant impact this upcoming season. It’s not often that Muslims are represented on TV, and when they are, it’s usually not accurate. Most times when Hollywood or Western culture try to showcase other cultures and religions for diversity’s sake, they don’t do it justice, but rather redefine said cultures to fit a mold that will sell to the public. With Skam, I know they won’t do that because the showrunners have always been invested in making their characters authentic and their stories realistic. And as someone who shares the same identity as Sana, I immediately felt good about this season. I am confident that they’re going to tackle the issues Muslim girls go through, which is especially important considering the blatant Islamophobia that is rampant in our current social and political climate.